Shedding mechanism for circular looms



Dec.-8, 1936. F. c. HALE ET AL. 2,053,734

v `SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR CIRCULAR LOOMS 1 Filed Jung 22, 1935 .gUNlrao STATE Patented Dec. 8, 1936 don, near Derby, England,

snEnDrNGMEcHANIsM rolt Umour.' f y LooMs l William- Howarth, Sponassignors to (leia-v nese Corporation ofjAmerica, a corporation ofv Delaware Application'mne 2z. 1935, serialNo'. 27,835 i In Greatritain July 13,1934

. fabric'softhatthe diameter of the fabric maybe -large inVv relation tothe 'space occupied by vthe loom,.1 the .shedding .movementgof the warp threads out of their normal line from the supradial direction..l The necessity for imparting such movement-to the warp threads leads to diftlnculty inconstructing a'shedding mechanismvfor a circular loom, especially as most textile fabrics have the warp threads spaced very close together, which calls for thedisposition in a relatively restricted space of a great -number of vcontrolling elementsnecessary. to bring about shedding.` The 1'. difficulty above-mentioned is furtherfincreased because these elements have to be reasonably accessible to the operative'forvr the entering of a warpor. the tying-in ofbroken ends.

The apparatusaccording to the-present invention provides in a simplemanner for the radiall 25 movementiof each warpthread. and enables effective control to be obtained over all the warp threads even when these are present in very high density, i

' According to' the invention the Warp threads 30 are controlled by light flat metal healds mounted on their edges so as to lie radiallyy in a support arranged round the'loom, the healds being free to move inthe support over la distance `somewhat in V,excess of that necessary to divide the warps 3 into a shed through-which the shuttle can pass. The healds are mounted in a plurality of banks,

Y the one support conveniently being adapted to carry all the banks-as will appear later. AAn electro-magnet is mounted in advance of each` shuttle opposite each bank of healds controlling the warp threads that are to be separated at thatshuttle from the remainder of the Warp threads'the elec- YVtro-magnet Vattracting each heald in turn so as 45 to cause it to slide in its support and deflect the warp thread controlled by it out of the normal line of the warp threads. This movement of the healds is effected just in front of the shuttle and the heald remains attracted'until the deflected warp thread has passed to the side of the shuttle Yopposite to that to which the undeflected Warp threads pass. When the healds pass out of the field of the electro-magnet, they are free to return to their normal position, the tension in the 55 warp threads effecting this return movement of ply -to fabricmust be in a radial or substantially e rings.

the healds as the warps reach the rear end of the shuttle.4 The light ilat section of the healds andv their edgewise mounting in the support allow l them to be flexed readily and easily pushed to i one side, sov that access .can readily be had to any 5 particular heald or healds during threading up.V

` Itis not necessary that the distance between 'the two sheets intowhich the warp threads .are

divided be equal to the width of the shuttle, since A the continual passageof the shuttlewill forceY the two sheets of warp threads apart, provided the initial separation was wide enough for the shuttle nose to enter. x

l Theelectro-magnets may be arrangedoutside the warp circle so as tolie adjacent to' the ends 15 of thehealds projecting outwards from the support;A or the magnets may be disposed inside the warp circle so as to lie `adjacent to the ends o1' theV healds projectinginwardly from the support.

Wherethe dobby mechanism is employed in a `Vloomvin which the shuttles rotate,r the electromagnets are so mounted thatv they rotate at the same speed as theshuttles, connection of the magnets'gto thesupply beingv by means of slip The linvention will now be described in greater 'detail with reference tothe accompanying drawf ing, which shows .theeapplicatio'n of the invention to a rotating-shuttle loom. g

In the drawing' v y Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically invertical halfsection a circular loom embodying shedding mechanism;

Fig. 2 shows the shedding mechanism in a' fview corresponding tok Fig. 1 but to a larger scale; 35

andv y Fig. 3 shows part yof the shedding mechanism` in diagrammatic plan view. Y

Referring to Fig.` 1 Warp threads 4 are shown'k directed vertically downwards fromv ka spacing 40 comb 5 past the shuttles Iii to the fell ofthe fabric 1, the latter passing over a supporting l ring 8 down to a take-up device (notishown) near the base of the loom. The comb 5 and the ring 8 are supported from the stationary centre shaft 45 9 of the loom. l

The shuttles 6 are supported from a rotatable ring Hl driven by means of a gear Il upon a shaft I2 connected by belt gear I3 to a motor Il. h Onvthe ring I0 aremounted rotatable vane wheels i5 passing through the outersheet of warps into contact with the shuttle so as to position the shuttle against an interior supporting ring i6 and, because of the rotation of the ring I0, 55

causing the shuttles to revolve about the said shaft 9V of the loom.

The Warp threads 4 before reaching the shuttles I pass through eyes Il of flat healds I8 mounted edgewise for free radial movement between spacing pieces |9- carried by annular supports 20, 2| outside and inside the warp circle respectively. The inner supports 2| are carried on a spider 22 from the shaft 9. The healds I8.

are arranged in three banks A, VB, C, the healds of the two upper banks being supported on rings 23 sprung into notches in the spacing pieces I9.

As is indicated by Fig. 2, every'third warpV mitting the healds to be deflected so that each eye, even of the middle bank, is readily accessible for threading up. It will be understood that while in the shedding position shown in Fig. 2 the third and first threads of a set of three are in line with each other and consequently appear in the figure as a single thread, the threads are quite separate and independent of 4each other;

the first thread (passing through the eye I1 of the lowermost heald C) lying directly behind the third thread (passing through the eye `I'I of the uppermost heald A).

Positioned outside the warp circle just in advance ofthe noses 24 of the shuttles E are electromagnets 25, there being a magnet 25A at the level of heald bankA and similarly, electro-magnets 25B, 25C at the levels of banks B and C respectively. These magnets are carried on a ring 26 mounted upon supports 21 Von the ringV I0, the magnets being connected in series and fed bymeans of conductors 28 making contact by means of brushes 29 with a pair of slip rings 3D carried by a stationary part 3| of the loom.

The mounting of the electro-magnets on the ring |0 ensures that the magnets rotate round the loom at the same speed as the shuttles 6, and, since the magnets remain continuously energized, each magnet attracts Vthehealds of the corresponding bank just in advance of each shuttle and draws the warp threads threaded in that bankV to the outside of the shuttle nose, leaving the remaining threads to pass to the inside of the shuttle nose. Into the shed thus initiated the shuttle pushes its way to insert the weft, all the healds returning under the tension of the warp threads to their normal line 32 at the rear of each shuttle to be re-shedded by the succeeding magnet.

'Ihe arrangement Shown with one warp in three in regular sequence being attracted by the particular magnet provides for the weaving of 2:1 twill, but it will be understood that other threading arrangements of the warps may be adopted, and also that other numbers of banks than three maybe employed for the production of different types of weave. Of course, in the case of the weaving of 2: 1 twill involving division of the Warps into equal groups of three, the number of shuttles in the loom should be a multiple of three.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent iszv 1. A multi-shuttle circular loom including vmeans to cause the shuttles to rotate about the axis of the loom and'shedding mechanism comprising a heald support, a plurality of banks of magnetic healds mounted radially in the support, and electro-magnets mounted in advance of the several shuttles so as to rotate round the loom at the same speed as the shuttles, the electro-magnetsl 'being positioned opposite selected banks of healds so as to attract the healds in said banks and to separate the warp threads controlled by the attracted healds fromthe remainder of the warp threads.

2. A multi-shuttle circular loom comprising a heald support, a plurality of banks of individually movable magnetic healds mounted radially in the support, electro-magnetsior operating the healds, a member between which and the banks of healds there is relative circular motion with respect to the loom axis, and means for mounting the electroemagnets Von said member in advance of the shuttles and opposite selected banks of healds so that the healds in such banks are attracted in turn and moved radially progressively around the loom to separate the warp threads controlled by the attracted healds from the remainder of the warp threads.

3. A multi-shuttle circular loom comprising a heald support, a plurality of banks of individually movable flat magnetic healds mounted on their edges so as to lie radially in the support, electro-magnets for operating the healds, a member between which and the banks of healds there is relative circular motion with respect to the loom axis, and means for inountingthe electromagnets on said member in advance oi the shuttles and opposite selected' banks of healds-,so that the healds insuch banks are attracted in turn and moved radially rprogressively around the loom to separate the warp threads controlled by the attracted healds from the remainder of the warp threads.

4. A multi-shuttle circular loom, comprising a and means for mounting the electro-magnets on' said member in advance of the shuttles land opposite selected banks of healds so that the healds in such banks are attracted in turn and moved radially progressively around the loom to separate the warp threads controlled by the attracted healds from the remainder of the warp threads.

' FRANK CORBYN HALE.

WILLIAM HOWARTH. 

